Home Bible Study: Abiding in Christ

With summer coming to a close, most people’s gardens have stopped producing. Many have enjoyed a summer of fresh corn, green beans, tomatoes, or cucumbers.

When someone decides to plant a garden, they may not fully appreciate the undertaking. The concept is simple, plant seeds and enjoy the fruits or vegetables that come. The reality is much different.

Planting the garden is only part of the process. Once the seeds are planted, the plants begin to grow. However, the growth will cease if the gardener does not tend or work the garden.

If left unattended, weeds and grass can overtake the garden. The once healthy plants will soon look unhealthy and eventually die.

Jesus used gardening as an example for His followers.

John 15:1–3 NKJV

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

In these three verses we discover three explanations that help us understand what Jesus wants us to know.

Jesus is the vine

We are the branches

God the Father is the vinedresser/gardener

When we come to Christ, our faith takes root in Him. We become offshoots of the Vine. He is the vine, we are the branches, and God is the one who works in and through us.

In our walk with Christ, God calls us to abide in Him. To abide is to remain the same place for an extended amount of time. It is God’s plan that when we come to Christ, we stay close to Him.

As we abide in Christ, we will grow stronger in God. Should we cease so stay committed, we will begin to see a loss of spiritual health. Should we walk from God, we will eventually wither in our relationship, allowing backsliding to consume us.

How have you grown in God within the last year?

What steps do you take to grow in God?

The Crisis of not Abiding in Christ

During the Last Supper, the Thursday before His death, Jesus spoke to His followers of what awaited them. Within twenty-four hours He would die on the cross.

Three days later He would rise from the dead. Forty days after that He would ascend to heaven, leaving His disciples on earth. They were worried and confused.

To them, Jesus’ absence meant a longterm crisis. Some might have been tempted to abandon their commitment to follow Jesus. However, Jesus showed the problems that come with going their own way.

John 15:4–6 NKJV

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

The crisis would not come because of Jesus’ physical absence. Instead, the crisis would come from a spiritual absence. Jesus’ planned to leave earth and return to heaven did not mean He would forget His followers.

If they turned from God, they would endure a spiritual disconnect that would bring about more pitfalls and difficulties.

Remember, when we get saved, we become branches on the vine. Our life and help comes from His strength and presence. Therefore, Jesus explained:

A branch cannot produce fruit away from the vine

Apart from Jesus we can do nothing

If we do not abide or remain with Christ we will wither and die

Jesus used an example they would have understood. If a branch is cut from a tree or a plant is dug up and not replanted, they will eventually whither and die.

Likewise, without a consistent relationship with Jesus, people will eventually limp from crisis to crisis. The enemy does not show this to us when he tempts us to forsake our relationship with God.

Instead, he attempts to show us the benefits of going our own way and doing what we want. However, Jesus is clear, crises will follow those who do not stay close to God.

Problems are inevitable for those who think they can live a blessed life apart from God. When we minimize our commitment to God, spiritual death will soon follow.

Can you describe a time when you felt spiritually disconnected from God?

How/why did you decide to draw closer to Christ?

Christ’s Plan for Abiding in Him

After discussing the negative impact of distancing ourselves from God, Jesus shows the disciples the benefits of abiding in Him.

John 15:7–8 NKJV

7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

When God’s people commit to Him and determine to remain steadfast and stable in their walk with Him, His plan will come to pass in our lives. Jesus explained the byproduct of abiding in Him is our ability to bear much fruit.

There are over 200 references to fruit in scripture. In this particular passage, shows that bearing fruit is not the sign of salvation, but of spiritual health.

The health of fruit depends on the health of the tree, vine, or plant. The disciples were not commanded to be fruitful, but to abide in Christ.

When they abide in Him, then they will grow stronger in Him. As they mature in their walk with Him, people will see the abundance of fruit displayed in their lives.

If Jesus is the vine and God the Father is the gardener, between they two of them, they will enable us to display the fruit of the Spirit.

Jesus describes some of the fruit that accompanies abiding in Him.

John 15:9–11 NKJV

9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

Jesus wants us to experience His love. The love of God is unlike anything the world can offer. Therefore, one of the fruits of abiding in Christ is receiving His love and showing His love.

God also wants us to keep His commandments. Abiding in Christ will change our perspective on keeping God’s commandments. It is more than a list what is or isn’t allowed.

Remaining in the love of God will cause us to want to do all we can to honor and serve Him. Keeping His commandments will not seem like a difficult task, but a privilege.

Finally, God can allow His joy to remain in us. Joy is different from happiness. We can get happy or sad depending on our circumstances. However, knowing where we stand with Christ and abiding in His love for us provides supernatural joy.

All in all, abiding in Christ creates an avenue where we can experience the fullness of what He has for us. Instead of limping from crisis to crisis, we will possess a confidence that comes from Him.

How can people tell you are a follower of Christ, what fruit do you display?

Do you struggle with keeping God’s commandments? If so, which one/s?

Challenge

Even though Jesus is not physically with us, we know Him through the Holy Spirit. Because He is in heaven, at the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.

That means God is everywhere at once through the Holy Spirit. He draws us closer to Jesus. When we come to Him, we abide in Him, allowing Him to make us into who He wants us to be.

Should there be things in our lives that do not belong, the Father can remove them and we will not suffer, because we are safe in the vine, close to Christ.

When we do not remain close to God, we will experience crisis after crisis.

That is not to say Christians never face problems. However, when we abide in Him, we will have a proper perspective on our difficulties, knowing we are not alone, for we are abiding in Him.

What steps can you take to abide in Christ?

What happens if we stop abiding in Christ?

List some of God’s commandments you want to be better at following.

Prayer

Invite Jesus into your family

Ask Him to reveal if we are abiding in Him the way He wants

Commit to keep His commandments

Trust Him to help you bear much fruit

Receive His love and joy